MANILA - Swedish furniture maker IKEA on Tuesday gave a preview of its massive facility in Pasay City as its officials toured Ambassador Harald Fries and his wife Susan inside its facilities.

In a Facebook post, IKEA Philippines said it welcomed Ambassador Fries "for a quick tour" of IKEA Pasay City.

"Today, we welcomed Ambassador of Sweden to the Philippines and his wife, Harald and Susan Fries, for a quick tour of IKEA Pasay City! From our offices where we just moved to from Makati, to our huge warehouse, our store which is still under construction, and of course a little fika at our co-worker restaurant," it said in post.

IKEA's Philippines outlet, located at the Mall of Asia Complex, is the world's largest branch with 65,000 square meters of floor space or roughly the size of 150 basketball courts.

Massive storage racks with crates were shown in photos with the Swedish Embassy and IKEA Philippines officials. The store proper is still under construction, the company said.

Aside from the warehouse, IKEA also gave a peek of its office, "co-worker restaurant" and other areas in the facility.

The opening of the Swedish furniture maker's first outlet in the Philippines is widely anticipated, especially when the COVID-19 pandemic prompted home-based Filipinos to reorganize and improve their homes.

Eager Filipinos stormed the company's website during the launch of its rewards program IKEA Family on July 7 causing its website to crash.

• IKEA PH website crashes as it opens loyalty club sign ups

IKEA Philippines country manager Georg Platzer earlier said the store would open in the 4th quarter but its e-commerce platform would be going live online ahead of time.

IKEA Philippines gave Swedish Ambassador to the Philippines Harald Fries and his wife Susan a tour of its facility in Pasay City. Photos: IKEA Philippines

IKEA Philippines gave Swedish Ambassador to the Philippines Harald Fries and his wife Susan a tour of its facility in Pasay City. Photos: IKEA Philippines

IKEA Philippines gave Swedish Ambassador to the Philippines Harald Fries and his wife Susan a tour of its facility in Pasay City. Photos: IKEA Philippines

IKEA Philippines gave Swedish Ambassador to the Philippines Harald Fries and his wife Susan a tour of its facility in Pasay City. Photos: IKEA Philippines

IKEA Philippines gave Swedish Ambassador to the Philippines Harald Fries and his wife Susan a tour of its facility in Pasay City. Photos: IKEA Philippines

IKEA Philippines gave Swedish Ambassador to the Philippines Harald Fries and his wife Susan a tour of its facility in Pasay City. Photos: IKEA Philippines

• LOOK: ‘Iconic’ IKEA logo now up at flagship store in PH

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